“I hate Disney”

Before you panic…..this isn’t me!!!!  Someone said this to me recently. Actually, he said “I hate Disney and Apple” (two companies I love). When I asked WHY he hated Disney and Apple, the answer I got was he hated Michael Eisner and Steve Jobs. I pointed out that Michael Eisner hadn’t been with Disney in several years and Steve Jobs was dead – he told me it didn’t matter. He still hated both. I knew at that point there probably wasn’t any point in continuing the discussion, but it did have me thinking about some the reasons why I LOVE Disney.

Walt himself was such an incredible, inspiring man. The story of a man who tried so hard for so long to do something he loved but kept persevering is inspiration in itself. I always get chills when I hear the story of the daddy who wanted a family friendly place to take his kids to on Sundays, “Daddy’s Day”. To then see what he went on to create with Disneyland, and then Disney World – just amazing.

1. I know Disneyland is the “Happiest Place on Earth” but I find Walt Disney World the most magical place on earth. The foresight Walt had, after his experience with Disneyland, to buy up all the land he did was incredible. The way it completely engulfs you on property and takes you away from your everyday life is something I think we all need sometimes. I have a crazy, busy, high stress job – Walt Disney World helps me forget about that for the time I am there. Not to mention amazing resorts, great food, and fun attractions to entertain you!
2. I cannot imagine my life without Disney movies. I was fortunate to be in middle school when the Disney Animation Renaissance began. I remember enjoying Oliver & Company – but the Little Mermaid truly hooked me in. As a very musical child, I loved the incredible stories and the fun and inventive music behind them. I had to have every soundtrack and listened to little else. I saved up money to buy VHS tapes of each movie as it was released (and many years later re-bought them all first on DVD, and then digital downloads). I was thrilled each time the Disney “vault” opened and I was able to get my hands on a new one. I remember in high school when Snow White was released on VHS watching with some friends and being surprised at all the little things I never picked up on before (which I can’t even remember how/when I would have seen it before but I’m sure I had!). To this day I enjoy my Disney movies, and The Little Mermaid is the one movie almost always on my iPad.
3. Disney Service Quality and Standards are amazing. At least at Walt Disney World and Disney Cruise Line – I’ve been less thrilled with the cast members at Disneyland. But things like the work Disney does to keep things clean, how they disguise less sightly things so as not to ruin your experience, and how they empower their employees to ensure guests are happy. All amazing things that contribute to an incredible customer experience second to none (well I don’t stay at too many 5 star resorts, so 2nd to none for me, but maybe 2nd to few!). This translates incredibly to the Disney Cruise Line. I’ve been on 9 different cruises on 4 different cruise lines. Hands down the service on Disney is the best (hence why 6 of my 9 cruises were on Disney and I have two more booked in the next year!).
4. The people that Disney has brought into my life are incredible! It started really in 2008 when we met Mary & Steve, and Steve & Allison at the dinner table our first night on that wonderful Magic sailing. And then it continued forward with the original WDW Radio Cruise in 2011 and things like local meet ups. Disney fans I find are incredible, caring, kind people – and I LOVE that our united love of Disney has helped me make so many new friendships. Friendships that I know I will carry with me for the rest of my life!

I’m sure there are more reasons, but maybe I’ll save them for a future article. I’d love to hear from you all though! What are some of the reasons that you love Disney? Have you met others like my friend who “hates” Disney for no good reason? How do you respond to that?

Also, I’ll be coming to you every other Thursday now, so please let me know if there’s anything in particular you’d like to hear about!

You can follow me on twitter @shelbell77

This entry was posted on June 21, 2012 at 8:00 AM and is filed under Columns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.